Motormouth! - Fast Talkin' DJs from the 60s - and Today

If you're of a certain age, you enjoy at least an occasional walk through yesteryear's happy memories. I have to confess that I take those strolls more often than I really should. I like the accidental quality of radio, where you wade patiently through the familiar and the popular for that moment of surprise when they play your favorite old song--or maybe one that you'd forgotten about.

Now I have an iPod so I can download whatever I want--and I have. But there are plenty more nuggets out there. Just today, I heard the beautiful Bowling Green by the Everly Brothers--their last song to get Top 40 airplay. That was 1967 -- you almost NEVER hear it.

Often, on afternoon drives home, I hear the crazy DJ that works that slot--Terry Motormouth Young, on Channel 6 on Sirius XM. The guy made a reputation for talking faster than anyone else. Now, he mumbles more and sometimes sounds a little lonely and even nutty, but he does conjure up the wild DJs of yore in between the songs. He also complains about being underpaid (satellite radio has been a money loser since it started) and being lonely while picking on his ex-wife. All well and good. That's entertainment.

He also likes to insert those boings, bongos and braking sounds that you'd hear in Hanna Barbara cartoons like the Flintstones, into some of the songs. Sometimes it's hilarious--often just annoying. But I still tune in to lift my spirits when I'm tired and driving in commute traffic.

The iPod plays my 2,533 songs in a perfect shuffle, but there's nobody stirring the pot. That's what these crazy DJs do, with their scrambled song contests, name that voice competitions, and historical brain teasers. It's fun.

Then, I'll switch to the Pulse, channel 10, for something from the last decade to clean out my brain. Or maybe to classical on Channel 76. My iPod can shuffle all these genres too.

Happy listening!